Main features of the work
Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal are among the most important international representatives of “pragmatic” architecture. They see planning open spaces as one of the main tasks of their architecture. The exhibition “Lacaton & Vassal” will open in mid-June at Aut. Architektur und Tirol.
In their very first project, the Latapie detached house from 1993, they formulated the main features of their subsequent work: a greenhouse construction is placed over a simple wooden structure and defines a climatic shell that functions as a conservatory and extended living space. The result is 185 square meters of usable space for 55,000 euros.
The theme of the greenhouse subsequently plays a central role in her work, as there is hardly a project that does not take up certain elements or set pieces of this industrial product from horticulture.
This also applies to the experimental terraced housing estate Cité Manifeste in Mulhouse – an internationally acclaimed project that was already on show at Aut in 2005. Here, an oversized greenhouse construction rests on an exposed concrete base. Elaborate details were dispensed with and only two thirds of the constructed volume was thermally insulated; the remaining space can be climatically controlled by the residents with the help of flexible elements.
Of the five architectural teams commissioned, they were the most radical in meeting the demand for more space. Not only because they built almost twice the volume of the usual standard in social housing, but also because the loft-like apartments allow scope for individual appropriation.
Lacaton & Vassal exhibition
The exhibition uses projections of numerous buildings and studies to show this social and sustainable approach of the two architects and opens up conceptual alternatives to current discussions in social housing. Large-format projected photos of the transformed spaces make the quality of their approach directly tangible. In addition, some architectural concepts of public buildings and their design methodology are presented by means of slideshows.
In the lounge of the Aut, a photo of the interior of the Palais de Tokyo gives a true-to-scale impression of the two architects’ approach to historical substance. The exhibition is complemented by books and project documentation by Lacaton & Vassal as well as two lectures by the two architects presented on screens.
The exhibition will take place at Aut from June 22 to October 6, 2018.